“We have arrived.”

“Hmm. Good work.”

The driver stopped the car in front of another grand gate. This gate seemed even bigger than ours… I felt overwhelmed by the wealth of the Kamiarizuki family as my father unbuckled my seatbelt. We got out of the car together.

“Itsuki, how was your first car ride?”

“It was fun!”

“Good. When you turn five, you can ride again.”

What’s with this system where something upgrades every time there’s a ‘Shichi-Go-San’?

“Why can’t I ride until I’m five?”

“Hmm. ‘Kaijutsu’… To put it simply, it’s a technique to control magic power. If you can’t use it, it’s dangerous to go outside.”

“Is it different from the magic you used, Papa?”

“It’s a preliminary technique. ‘Kaijutsu’ is the art of controlling magic within your body. After that, you learn ‘Shijutsu’ to project magic outside, and then you can use magic.”

“Um…”

Suddenly, magic became complicated. Can’t it be simpler, like saying ‘Fire!’ and having flames appear?

As I frowned, my father laughed heartily.

“Haha, don’t rush. You’ll start practicing ‘Kaijutsu’ now. If you can use it by the time you’re five, that’s good enough. There’s no need to master it right away.”

“If I can use ‘Kaijutsu’ at four, can I go outside?”

I wanted to say ‘Kaijutsu,’ but my articulation wasn’t perfect yet. Still, my father understood and raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, if you can use it… But did you hear that, Kaede? Itsuki already wants to learn ‘Kaijutsu’!”

“Yes, I heard. It’s good that you’re excited about Itsuki, but don’t overdo it.”

“Y-yes, I understand… But remember, Itsuki was already using ‘Kaijutsu’ in a vague sense when he was just a month old…”

“Oh, that was just a coincidence.”

My mother, a slender Japanese beauty, effortlessly handled my father. Seeing this, I realized people are not always as they appear.

By the way, isn’t ‘Kaijutsu’ the technique I’ve been using all along?

To escape the fear of ‘Makui,’ I’ve been controlling my magic every day, every hour, every second. Without realizing it, I mastered ‘Kaijutsu.’

What surprised me was that there are proper methods other than ‘that’ to expel magic. I didn’t know. I thought the only way was through, well, you know.

In hindsight, if magic exists, it’s natural to use it for spells. Why was I so fixated on that method…?

Feeling a bit shocked at myself, I entered the Kamiarizuki family’s gate, greeted by an impressive staircase.

…Stone steps beyond the gate? What kind of place is this, Kamiarizuki?

As I hesitated, my mother spoke gently.

“Itsuki, it’s your first time seeing stone steps, isn’t it? Surprised? Can you climb them by yourself?”

“I can climb them!”

Encouraged by my mother, I nodded. Thinking about such things as I entered this grand gate probably made me the first and last person to do so. I silently apologized.

“Itsuki, other children from different families will be at this ‘Shichi-Go-San.’ Can you be friendly with them?”

“Yes, I’ll be friendly.”

I nodded, but honestly, I felt a bit nervous. I’m shy, after all.

But they’re three-year-olds like me. It would be strange to be nervous.

Resolving this quickly, I took my parents’ hands and hopped up the stone steps, thinking about the “other families.”

What kind of kids will they be? Rambunctious ones?

“The families with children of Itsuki’s age are the Satsuki and Shimotsuki families, right?”

“Yes. But both have daughters.”

“I see. They still don’t have sons…”

“They’re considering taking a second wife.”

“That must be tough.”

My parents talked about adult matters over my head.

From their conversation, I gathered that the Satsuki and Shimotsuki families are also exorcist families. I had heard there were other exorcist families besides ours, so it wasn’t surprising.

But both have daughters…

Exorcist families need a son to carry on the line. Did my father just say ‘second wife’? A second wife means having another wife besides the first… Is that even allowed?

For someone who’s never even held hands with a girl other than my mother, this was an unbelievable concept.

“Last step!”

I shouted as I reached the top, where another man in a black suit, different from the driver, was waiting.

“Welcome, Kisaragi family. The Satsuki and Shimotsuki families are already here.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s hurry, Itsuki.”

So, we were the last to arrive. Sorry for being late.

At the top of the stairs was a stone-paved courtyard and a large mansion. I thought our Kisaragi mansion was big, but the Kamiarizuki mansion dwarfed it several times over.

Ignoring the mansion, the man in black led us deeper into the courtyard.

“This way.”

“What are we doing?”

“We’re measuring magic power. Only the head of the Kamiarizuki family can do it.”

Before I could ask more, we reached our destination.

A wooden, square platform with a burning flame at its center. It looked like a simple campfire or maybe a shrine’s sacred fire.

Around the platform stood two other families.

“You’re late, Souichiro.”

“Finally, we were getting tired of waiting.”

Souichiro is my father’s name. The speaker was a slender man with a vertical scar on his face, smiling. Definitely an exorcist.

Hiding behind him was a little girl with long hair like a Japanese doll. When I looked at her, she quickly hid behind him. She must be shy too. Me too, girl.

On the other side was a burly man, also clearly an exorcist, with a little girl on his shoulders. Unlike the shy girl, she was playfully tugging her father’s hair. Definitely an outgoing kid.

As I observed, a woman’s voice cut through.

“Well, well, everyone’s here.”

A blonde woman dressed like a shrine maiden appeared, and the exorcist men instantly tensed.

…Wait, is she someone important?

“Let’s get started. It’s dangerous to keep children without ‘Kaijutsu’ training outside for long. We’ll go in the order of arrival. Shimotsuki, you’re first.”

“Aya, come here.”

The shy girl was lifted by her father, and a woman behind them cut a lock of her hair.

“Throw it into the fire.”

Following the blonde woman’s instructions, they tossed the hair into the flame.

The next moment, the fire roared up, reaching the height of a two-story house!

Hot!!!

The previously calm fire suddenly became a blazing inferno, leaving me speechless.

My bangs were lifted by the heat!

“Not bad. ‘Third Rank,’ I’d say.”

“…Thank you.”

I see. They judge by the fire’s size. But ranks? I wish they’d explain it like a game, with ‘S’ or ‘A’ ranks.

“Next, Satsuki.”

“Rin, come down.”

“No way!”

The girl on the burly man’s shoulders threw a fit.

“Okay, okay. You can stay up. Mom, please.”

“Alright.”

With a resigned smile, the gentle-looking woman cut Rin’s hair and threw it into the fire.

Woosh!!!

The fire roared again, this time twice as big as Aya’s. Incredible. She must have a lot of magic power.

“Impressive… Satsuki is ‘Fourth Rank’ this year. Fortunate indeed.”

The blonde woman seemed genuinely pleased with the display.

“Last, Kisaragi.”

“Y-yes!”

I greeted her instinctively, making the blonde woman smile wryly.

“Itsuki, I’m going to cut your hair.”

“…Okay.”

As my father cut my hair, I felt my heart pounding. All the training over these three years to increase my magic power, all to survive as an exorcist, to become the strongest.

Now, I would see the result of my efforts.

My heartbeat accelerated, drumming in my ears.

And as my father threw my hair into the fire,

Booomm!!!!

A massive explosion occurred.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep